Going to setup a small company server... but how?

Hi, everyone. I'm going to set up a server for my company. It's a small company that have 12 desktop and 5 laptop, perhaps will increase at the near future...

But since i have none of server setup experience, so i browse through the internet... unfortunately, that makes me more confuse...

So the requirement is like this, mostly the server will be use to store the documents, so i considered it as a database server. Maybe you guys have some good ideas?

Then about the OS, i wonder how can i choose a server OS? I read the perfect server - fedora 7 in here, so i think it can be apply, right? So, if i use Fedora 7 as OS in the server, do i still need MS server software? And how about the Anti-virus software? Do i need it? Besides the Fedora 7, what else do i need in order to setup a server?

First you need to know what you want to do before anyone can tell you how to best achieve that.

You said most likely to store documents. Do you want to store the documents as binary large objects in a database or shall there be a database system employed that will help you organizing the actual documents?

The perfect howtos are aimed at setting up a typical webserver featuring apache, php, mysql, email... I don't think that is exactely what you need.

Antivirus programs are genereally not needed in linux environments - except to filter out viruses that could harm Windows computers. So if you run an email server or file server to which Windows clients connect to, you can add another level of security by running anti-virus scans on those files.

OK, the situation is like this, first, this server is going to store the company's documents. Meanwhile, it can be accessed by clients and they can update a particular document both in their computer and the document in the server. Of course, all the documents only allow access by company's employees. This is and the only main function of setting up the server, according to my manager. So it will just handle the company's documents.

Since i read some of the articles throughout the internet, i think the server OS will be Fedora 7, but i have no idea what else do i need, is it good to use windows server 2003 with Fedora? Or just Fedora is fine?

Server Features
The SME Server server and gateway installs automatically on a PC, converting it to an industrial-strength communications server that optionally allows all of the computers on your network to share a single Internet connection.

In one simple, easy-to-install package, you get:

A high performance email server that handles email to and from your users.

Browser based server-manager software that makes it easy to add new user accounts, control remote access, configure network printers, set up workgroups and connect additional networks.

Special services that speed web and Internet access, improving the performance of your network.

A shared email address book that is maintained automatically.

i-bays, a unique communications and collaborative facility that makes it easy for users to work together on projects.

Quota Management - you have the ability to set a limit on the amount of a disk space a user can use for files and e-mail.

Windows 2000 and XP domain logon support - Previous versions have allowed the server to act as a domain controller for client computers running Windows 95, 98, ME or NT. This version now extends that domain logon support to Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

USB printer support - It is now possible to connect the SME Server to a printer via the USB port.

Improved Macintosh file sharing support - The server now includes better support for Macintosh file sharing and eliminates some previous cases where Macintosh users were unable to access i-bays.

Experimental ISDN card support - While our software has always supported external ISDN adapters, this version now includes experimental support for using an internal passive ISDN card.

Use of unmodified packages from upstream providers - Packages from Centos 4 (2.6.9 kernel), Mitel, and other packages from atrpms and rpmforge are used unmodified whenever possible. The result is that any other Redhat EL4 or Centos 4 RPMS should work without modification.

Installation on a system with 1 hard drive is automatically set up half of a RAID1 mirror, ready to accept a second drive. Systems with 2 drives are set up as RAID 1; 3-5 drives as RAID5; and 6+ Drives as RAID6.

Webmail has been upgraded to the latest versions of Horde, Imp, Turba and Ingo from horde.org

SMTP Email reception is now handled by qpsmtpd. Advanced but simple to use plugin system to easily install extra functionality and write local rules. Almost all features are implemented in plugins.

Antivirus email and hard drive scanning is now provided by ClamAV. Virus definitions are kept up to date automatically, and program updates will be available automatically via the software installer (yum).

Email attachment handling: Including the ability to block EXE, ZIP, PIF and automatic conversion of TNEF or UUENCODE encoded attachments to MIME.

I agree with the previous poster, sme server would probably work out for you until you learn linux better. I'm not really a Windows person so my response would be biased towards the Windows Server 2003 question.

The SME server is installed on ordinary Intel hardware. Note: this is NOT a product you install on an existing Linux system; this is a complete integrated operating system that you install on dedicated hardware.

So is that mean that it only can be installed on Intel machine? And just install the SME Server without install any OS?

By the way, is it possbile to set this server offline? I mean, since this server is use to handle documents, nothing to do with email...

well, apache is not an operating system but a server software. So you will need an existing operate system already installed before you attempt to install apache.

The SME Server package is not such an addon but a full operating system (including various server daemons). That's what is meant by "Note: this is NOT a product you install on an existing Linux system; this is a complete integrated operating system that you install on dedicated hardware."

AV: That depends very much... antivirus on linux does not filter out viruses for linux (there are almost none and even if they are, they are "complicated" to install)... anyway, antivirus on linux is being used to scan emails and file shares for windows viruses so that windows users won't catch them... the weakest link in security is still the user (users that just click on everything and say "ok" or "proceed" without knowing what they are doing)... so it's up to you to decide whether you want to run AV or not.

Hi.. I have a new task now..
Which is to store customer information, like contact details, email.. all those things..
SO, is it SME able to offer that function?
like i enter a customer's name, it shows up their information.. maybe through webpage or what..
OR is there any software that can assists in this way and also compatible with SME? Maybe like.. FileMaker?
Thanks!!